Surface finishing panel



1966 1. F. DITTMAR SURFACE FINISHING PANEL Original Filed Dec. 6 1961 It y i Wag INI /ENTOR. BY FE 7777/? [Ra/ZN #rro mvzya United StatesPatent 3,279,138 SURFACE FINISHING PANEL Irvin F. Dittmar, Williamsport,Pa., assignor to The Cromar Company, a corporation of MarylandContinuation of application Ser. No. 157,976, Dec. 6, 1961. Thisapplication July 2, 1965, Ser. No. 470,345 4 Claims. (Cl. 52-384) Thisapplication is a continuation of application Ser. No. 157,976, nowabandoned, filed Dec. 6, 1961.

The present invention relates to a unique wood panel and moreparticularly and specifically to a novel prefinished parquet-type woodpanel used for finishing floor and wall surfaces.

While the novel panel constituting a principal concept of the presentinvention has many and varied uses, it is in greatest demand in thefield of pre-finished wood flooring. Heretofore, in the art of woodflooring, it has been the practice to produce and supply unfinishedparquet units bonded by kraft paper on one or both sides, which unitsare laid in a mastic compound, leveled, stripped of paper and thenfinished in the manner of finishing typical wood flooring. This type offloor installation has proved to be time-consuming, arduous and costly.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a noveland improved parquet-type floor panel which eliminates substantially allof the principal objections inherent in panels of similar purposesheretofore known in the art.

A principal object of this invention lies in the provision of a noveland improved wood panel of the parquet-type which is manufactured with apre-finished face and a flexible backing mat permitting readyinstallation of the panel in the manner of synthetic floor tiles toproduce a pre-finished installation.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a novel andimproved wood panel which is constructed so as to provide forequalization and balance of stresses of expansion and contractionresulting from the natural hydroscopic character of wood therebyeliminating distortion, separation and buckling, such as has been commonin floor units of similar type and purpose.

Still another object of this invention rests in providing a novel andimproved wood panel in which the component parts of the panel unit areself-leveling in respect to one another, as are the panel units inrespect to each other, when installed on surfaces having untrue,non-level characteristics.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a novel andimproved wood panel formed from a multiple of small wooden slats groupedand arranged in patterns of diverse grain direction so as to form auniform panel unitized by a flexible fabric backing adhered to the slatsurfaces on one side and with the opposite slat surfaces beingpre-finished.

Another object of this invention rests in the provision of a novel andimproved wood panel of the construction hereinbefore described which issimple and inexpensive of design, manufacture and installation inrelation to known prior art devices of like function.

Still further objects and advantages of this invention will become morereadily apparent to one skilled in the pertinent art when the followinggeneral statement and description are read in the light of theaccompanying drawings.

The nature of the present invention may be stated in general terms aspertaining to a pre-finished, mosaic Wooden panel formed from aplurality of identical slats arranged in diverse patterns and joined inuniform units by flexible backing fabric adhered to the slat surfacesPatented Oct. 18, 1966 ice on one face of the units, the slat surfaceson the second face of each unit being pre-finished and wax coated.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in which like numeralsdesignate similar parts throughout the sev eral views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the novel panel constituting the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the panel of FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating the bottom surface ofthe panel;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the panel as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of panels laid on an un even floorsurface;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevation illustrating panel flexibility.

The improved wooden panel 10 constituting the inventive concept hereindisclosed takes the form of a flat unit of uniform outline made up of amultiple of identical wooden slat elements 12 arranged in a tight mosaicpattern and bound together by a backing sheet 14 of a flexible material.

As is best seen in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, wherein apreferred embodiment of the panel is illustrated, each panel unit 10 iscomposed of an equal number of uniform block elements 16 arranged in asquare configuration with an equal number of such block elements on eachside of the square. Each block element, in turn, is composed of aplurality, five in number in the example shown, of elongated flat woodenslats 12 disposed in sideby side coincidence with the grain of all ofthe slats in each such block element extending longitudinally of theslats and, thus, in the same direction of the block element.

As is further seen, the adjacent block elements are oriented at to oneanother so that the longitudinal dimensions and grain directions in theslats of adjacent elements are perpendicular.

As is best seen in FIG. 2, one face of the panel unit is substantiallycovered by a flexible backing member 14, such as asphalt saturated felt,which is bonded to the entire panel unit surface and to the surfaces ofeach slat in each block element of the panel unit. It is seen, forreasons to be hereafter made evident, that the backing member 14 istrimmed off at 18 about its four sides at a slight distance inwardly ofor in undercut relation to the peripheral edge of the overlying panelunit, and that the member 14 is compressed with groove formations 20 atspaced intervals in perpendicular directions thereof with said groovescoinciding with the overlying joints or lines of division between theseveral block elements forming the panel unit.

The peripheral edge of that face of the panel unit opposite the backingsheet is beveled as at 22 for purposes to be made evident, and theexposed face of the unit is finished by sanding, sealing and wax coatingas is to be hereafter described.

Panel units of the character hereinbefore described may be readilyinstalled as flooring, by way of example, in substantially the samemanner as present-day asphalt and plastic, namely, by applying mastic ona floor surface to a rare-determined thickness, and laying the woodenpanels in the mastic, backing sheet side down, in edge to edgerelationship, after which they are pressed down into adhesive contactwith the mastic. As is best seen in FIG. 5, panels so laid on a floorsurface 24 of uneven or unlevel character will accommodate themselvesreadily to floor contours by reason of the flexibly interconnectedcomponent elements of the panel, and upstanding or projectingobstructions between adjacent panels are avoided u by the edge bevelinghereinbefore described. The undercut of the flexible backing serves toprovide beneath the panel a limited void between adjacent panels whichwill receive excess mastic forced upwardly by setting pressure appliedto the upper panel surfaces thereby curtailing, if not eliminating,mastic extrusion from between adjacent panels.

It is to be recognized that a panel of the type described may beassembled and unitized by the application of the flexible backingmaterial to the multiple, separate wood slats arranged as shown anddescribed. When the flexible backing has been secured to the slats byadhesion the panel becomes a composite unit which may then be handledand processed for machine or hand operations re sulting in the workingof the panel face opposite to the backing sheet. Accordingly, thecomposite panel unit may be subjected to sanding, fluid coating, waxingand bufling operations to ultimately provide a pre-finished unit forready installation.

It has been discovered that the arrangement of slat elements, and graindirections thereof as shown and hereinbefore described, serves to takemaximum advantage of the hydroscopic characteristics of Wood and toprovide for a complete balance in all lateral directions of the panel ofstresses set up by absorption of moisture. This balance avoids anywarping or buckling of the panels when installed on a wall or floorsurface.

It has also been discovered that a panel of the type described and shownachieves maximum benefit through securing each slat element to thefabric or flexible backing independently of each other slat element, allof which is best illustrated in FIG. 6. Independence of slat elementattachment to the backing provides for maximum flexibility of the paneland maximum self-leveling characteristics.

It has been further discovered that by grooving the backing sheet 14, asat 20, or by a preselected pattern of grooves, scoring or slotting inplural directions of the backing sheet, built-in relief is provided forlateral stresses set up in the flexible backing sheet which result frommoisture presence or drying out of adhesive materials used to set thepanel against a wall or floor surface.

By the foregoing, it can be seen that a complete, prefinished floor maybe quickly and easily installed which is immediately ready for use.

Having thus described and explained the invention and having clearlysatisfied the objects and advantages hereinbefore set forth, What isdesired to be claimed is:

1. A pre-finished floor panel comprising, a plurality of blocks formedof plural elongated wood slats in side by side relationship, a flexiblesheet underlying the surface of said blocks and being undercut toprovide a marginal shoulder peripherally about said assembled blocks,said sheet being secured independently to each slat in each block, theperipheral edge of said assembled blocks on that face opposite saidflexible sheet being beveled, and said flexible sheet having a pluralityof elongated grooves formed therein in spaced relationship.

2. A pre-finished floor panel as defined in claim 1 wherein the Woodgrain runs longitudinally of each slat, and the slats of adjacent blocksare positioned in perpendicular directions.

3. A pre-finished floor panel comprising, a plurality of elongated Woodslats of the same size and with the grain running longitudinally thereofarranged in side by side relationship to form a square blockconfiguration, a plurality of said slat formed block configurationsarranged in side by side and edge to edge relationship to form a flatrectangle in which the grain of the slats in adjacent blocks extends atright angles, a flexible sheet of lesser peripheral dimension than saidrectangle secured independently to each slat on one face of saidrectangle and defining a marginal shoulder peripherally about saidrectangle, said sheet being provided with spaced grooves thereacross intwo perpendicular directions thereof, the slats about the peripheraledge of said rectangle being chamfered adjacent the faces thereofopposite said attached sheet, and the slat surfaces within theperipheral chamber being finished.

4. A pre-finished floor panel comprising, a plurality of elongated woodslats of the same size and with the grain running longitudinallythereof, said slats arranged in side by side relationship to form ablock, a plurality of said slat formed blocks arranged in side by sideand edge to edge relationship to form a flat rectangle with the slats ofadjacent blocks being oriented in perpendicular relationships, aflexible sheet secured independently to each slat on one surface of saidflat rectangle, said flexible sheet being provided with a plurality ofelongated grooves formed therein in groups arranged in intersectingtransverse directions of said sheet, said grooves coinciding withcertain joints defined by abutting wood slats to accommodate and relievelateral stresses set-up by variations in moisture content of theassembly, and that surface of said flat rectangle remote to saidflexible sheet being pre-finished.

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 734,179 1955 GreatBritain. 828,823 1960 Great Britain. 855,019 1960 Great Britain.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner. R. A. STENZEL, Assistant Examiner.

1. A PRE-FINISHED FLOOR PANEL COMPRISING, A PLURALITY OF BLOCKS FORMEDOF PLURAL ELONGATED WOOD SLATS IN SIDE BY SIDE RELATIONSHIP, A FLEXIBLESHEET UNDERLYING THE SURFACE OF SAID BLOCKS AND BEING UNDERCUT TOPROVIDE A MARGINAL SHOULDER PERIPHERALLY ABOUT SAID ASSEMBLED BLOCKS,SAID SHEET BEING SECURED INDEPENDENTLY TO EACH SLAT IN EACH BLOCK, THEPERIPHERAL EDGE OF SAID ASSEMBLED BLOCKS AND THAT FACE OPPOSITE SAIDFLEXIBLE SHEET BEING BEVELED, AND SAID FLEXIBLE SHEET HAVING A PLURALITYOF ELONGATED GROOVES FORMED THEREIN IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP.